>In a few cycles, you can produce an excellent fit.
>^^^^^^^^^^^^
>  OK, you have the proto chisel handle in the lathe between centers. How do
>you fit the chisel on the taper to smoke 'er on?
>^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Several people asked essentially this same question.  If you know in advance
>you're going to be doing this "smoking" technique, drive the wooden blank
>with a chuck, or use a drilled wooden block on a faceplate as a "jam chuck."

Or these simple techniques - one: turn between centers. When you want 
to fit, either demount from both centers and use rust, filth, soot or 
chalk in the socket to mark what's to be removed. Soot or chalk may 
be added if your socket is somehow too clean for rust and filth to do 
the job.

With a non-round socket (a lot of them) you need a registration mark 
(a line, or a crows-foot) on socket and handle, and you'll be 
whittling (or hand scraping) rather than turning when you start to 
get close. Stick it in with the marks lined up, wiggle but don't 
turn, then remove all the rusty/dirty/sooty/chalky parts and repeat. 
That will give you a fit that won't spin out if you twist it, with 
the typically non-round socket.

Two: Assuming the semi-mythical round socket, you can hold the 
tailstock end in the socket (holding the chisel with socket in your 
hand, tailstock slid back out of the way) and push the headstock end 
onto the drive center, pump it around a few times, and then remount 
on the tail center.
-- 
-Lawrence H Smith, Librarian/Computarian for Buxton School and Woodworker
-lsmith@s...      Cats, Coffee, Chocolate... Vices to live by.